Rams Reader Team

Rams players recommend kids books

St. Louis Rams players have given area kids their own personal reading suggestions. Fifty-six Rams players picked a favorite book from their childhood and urged local kids to try them.

For instance, all-star flanker Isaac Bruce suggested elementary kids try "Bingo Brown," by author Betsy Byars. While Rams coach Scott Linehan said he recommends "Brian's Song" for middle school kids.

Quarterback Marc Bulger said "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck is a good book for high school kids.

The Rams kicked off its 2006 Rams Reader Team program during the Big Read festival early in October in Clayton. The one-day street festival provided all sorts of book tips, including many for kids.

Kids were urged by the Rams to contact their local libraries for program details and a complete list of player book suggestions.

A total of 100 libraries in Missouri and Illinois are participating in the Rams reading program. That includes 67 libraries in Missouri and 33 others in Illinois. Included are 16 libraries in the city of St. Louis, 20 in St. Louis County and 12 in St. Charles County.

The Rams Reader Team program runs through the end of November. The St. Louis Rams offer individual incentives for each book a kid reads from their recommended list.

In addition, at the end of the program, kids to have read the most books on the recommended list will be invited to a Team party at Rams Park in early January, 2007.

To participate, kids sign up at their local library and then register the books they've read with their local librarian. Incentives include Rams poster, magnets and folders.

For a complete list of the recommended 2006 Reader Team recommendations and a list of participating libraries, visit your local library or visit www.stlouisrams.com. From the home page, click on the Off the Field icon and then Ram Reader Team.

Here are a few books recommended by Rams players, together with a content description:

Tackle Alex Barron, "Call of the Wild" by Jack London, for middle schoolers. This is a story of a courageous dog, Buck, taken from pampered surroundings and shipped to Alaska to be a sled dog. As Buck fights for survival, his primitive nature begins to emerge and he becomes more like a wolf from which his breed is descended.

Wide receiver Isaac Bruce, "Bingo Brown," by Betsy Byers, for elementary schoolers. A boy is puzzled by the comic and confusing questions of youth and worried by disturbing insights into adult conflicts. Bingo brings laughs but is sensitive and thoughtful.

 

 

Quarterback Marc Bulger, "Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck, for high schoolers. This epic story of the Joads tells about a family of Oklahoma farmers who flee from their farm to California during the dust bowl years of the 1930s. The family discovers the harsh relatives of America's division between rich and poor.

 

 

Wide receiver Tory Holt, "The Jungle Book," by Rudyard Kipling, for elementary schoolers. This is the tale of a baby abandoned and brought up by wolves, educated in the ways and secrets of the jungle by Kaa the python, Baloo the bear and Bagheera the Black Panther. The story is a mixture of fantasy, myth and magic.

 

Coach Scott Linehan, "Brian's Song" by William Blinn, for middle schoolers. Two men. One is named Gayle Sayers, the other Brian Piccolo. They came from different parts of the country. They competed fiercely for the same job. One liked to talk; the other was shy. One was white, the other black. This is the story of how they came to know each other, fight each other and help each other.

Defensive end Leonard Little, "Winnie-the-Pooh," by A.A. Milne, for elementary schoolers. A collection of stories that tell of the adventures of Christopher Robin and his stuffed animal friends, Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Piglet, Kanga and Baby Roo. Many fun lessons are learned from these characters as they get themselves in and out of trouble.

 

Offensive tackle Orlando Pace, "The Shape Changer," by Bill Brittain, for elementary schoolers. Two seventh-grade friends aid a shape-changing policeman from planet Rodinam as he tries to capture an alien master criminal who also can change form.

Punter Matt Turk, "Treasure Island," by Robert Louis Stevenson, for middle schoolers. A sea-faring adventure that will be sure to keep your attention.

Linebacker Will Witherspoon, "Me and My Dad," by Paul O'Neill, for middle schoolers. Stellar Yankee right fielder Paul O'Neill, now retired, weaves his life in baseball with his father's direction, training and example. Chick O'Neill, who died just before the final game of the 1999 World Series, made his youngest son into the player and man that he is.